Tuna Pasta Salad is a simple, tasty and highly practical recipe, perfect for a quick lunch, light dinner, picnic or takeaway to work.
Complete and balanced, it can easily replace a meal, making it a popular option at home, both as a starter and as a main course. Children particularly like it with a slice of pizza or a piece of quiche.
Table of Contents
Tips and variants
Quick and easy to make, this salad is perfect for any occasion. Add crunchy vegetables, fresh basil leaves, crumbled feta or even a few toasted walnuts for a touch of freshness or crunch.
When it comes to vinaigrette, the choice is yours:
A classic version based on olive oil, vinegar and mustard.
A creamier, lighter version with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Last but not least, this salad can be easily prepared in advance and stored for up to two days in the fridge, preferably in an airtight glass jar.
Ingredients:
Pasta: I used chifferini elbows, but you can use any pasta you like. Penne, fusilli, and farfalle work very well too.
Tuna: Tuna is a key ingredient in this salad, as it complements the pasta with its protein content and adds a lot of flavor. You can use canned tuna, drained and flaked, or steamed fresh tuna.
Anchovies: They add a lot of flavour to this salad, but if you don’t have any, tuna will suffice.
Lettuce: Choose the lettuce you like. Sometimes my children ask me not to wear them. We know pasta fans when we see them.
Cherry tomatoes: To add texture and color to a salad, nothing beats cherry tomatoes. Elongated, round, red or yellow, it doesn’t matter, a mixture can also be used.
Yoghurt: Used to lighten mayonnaise, you can do without it.
The Recipe in Video
Ingredients:
NB: You can print the recipe card at the end of the article.
Serves 4
- 300 g of pasta of your choice (here, Chifferini elbows)
- A bit of chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of capers
- A few cherry tomatoes
- Canned tuna in water
- A few black olives
- 1 plain yogurt
- 3 heaping teaspoons of mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
- Grated Emmental cheese
- A few anchovy fillets
- A few lettuce leaves
- A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- A drizzle of olive oil
Preparation steps
Bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt.
Pour in 250 g of pasta, stirring until the water returns to a boil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes for an al dente texture, the pasta should remain slightly firm. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Let it drain thoroughly.
In a bowl, mix the yogurt with 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.
In another bowl, cut some cherry tomatoes. Add a generous spoonful of capers, chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Mix and let marinate for about 10 minutes.
Season the pasta with olive oil, salt, a pinch of pepper, chopped parsley, half the light mayonnaise, a little grated cheese, a little balsamic vinegar and the desired amount of tuna. Stir to combine.
Add half the marinated tomatoes and a few black olives and toss to combine.
Arrange a few lettuce leaves on the plates. Place the pasta salad on top.
Garnish with whole cherry tomatoes, remaining marinated cherry tomatoes, a few anchovies and black olives. Top with grated cheese and light mayonnaise.
Other summer recipes
Smoked bell pepper salad
Caesar salad
Easy Tuna Pasta Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g of pasta of your choice here, Chifferini elbows
- A bit of chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of capers
- A few cherry tomatoes
- Canned tuna in water
- A few black olives
- 1 plain yogurt
- 3 heaping teaspoons of mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
- Grated Emmental cheese
- A few anchovy fillets
- A few lettuce leaves
- A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- A drizzle of olive oil
PREPARATION
- Bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt.
- Pour in 250 g of pasta, stirring until the water returns to a boil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
- Cook for 8 to 10 minutes for an al dente texture, the pasta should remain slightly firm. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Let it drain thoroughly.
- In a bowl, mix the yogurt with 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.
- In another bowl, cut some cherry tomatoes. Add a generous spoonful of capers, chopped parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Mix and let marinate for about 10 minutes.
- Season the pasta with olive oil, salt, a pinch of pepper, chopped parsley, half the light mayonnaise, a little grated cheese, a little balsamic vinegar and the desired amount of tuna. Stir to combine.
- Add half the marinated tomatoes and a few black olives and toss to combine.
- Arrange a few lettuce leaves on the plates. Place the pasta salad on top.
- Garnish with whole cherry tomatoes, remaining marinated cherry tomatoes, a few anchovies and black olives. Top with grated cheese and light mayonnaise.